Something magical is happening in Aberdeen later this month, and it’s called True North. Cheryl Livingstone finds out more about the Granite City’s newest music festival
It has been 18 months of trying to get the vibe and feel of it right, getting the structure of the programme right, identifying the type of artists they wanted to work with, finding a gap in a busy schedule and then making it all happen.
But now it is finally here – the inaugural True North Festival, a new three-day event that celebrates the north-east’s rich musical heritage and its exciting future.
It is the brainchild of Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA). Ben Torrie, APA’s director of programming and creative projects, said they were keen from the beginning to ensure the new event was rooted in the history of the north-east.
“The north-east of Scotland has a long history of singing and songwriting, be it fisherman through to farmers and their bothy ballads right through to huge contemporary stars like Emeli Sandé or Annie Lennox,” he said.
“So we feel there has been a journey in this region and we decided to focus on that heritage for this festival. But we didn’t want it to be a backwards-looking festival, it’s very much forward looking and contemporary in its outlook and its programming, but rooted in the musical heritage of the region.”
True North kicks off on Friday, September 25, and features an array of musical talent and styles, workshops and talks. And the action isn’t just contained in APA’s venues – over the course of the weekend, there will be musical artists spilling into the city’s streets and pubs creating a magical atmosphere for its three-day run.
Ben said they could have contained the festival within their own venues and spaces, but wanted the city to have ownership of the festival as well.
“We’re hoping to have performers, singer-songwriters, guys with guitars popping up across the city. It’s not just an event for ticket holders; it’s something for everyone,” he added.
And he’s right: this festival really does have something for everyone, from big names such as Tom Odell (who was a successful singer-songwriter in his own right but shot to even more fame after his song was used in last year’s John Lewis Christmas advert) to more folk-inspired music.
Ben said: “There are some big names in there and we were conscious of that. We didn’t want to create a niche festival; we wanted to have the artistic values of a niche festival, but have something that had an attraction to people other than hardcore aficionados. We want them, too, but we want something that has got some general appeal to it, too. We’ve got some great names and we’re really delighted with how the festival has shaped up.”
With such a fantastic lineup of talent you might be considering what act you want to see most over the others due to the fact that many festivals schedule events at the same time – thus prompting you to pick your favourite. But not APA. They have ensured you get to see all that is on offer.
“There are often festivals that you go to because of one particular event, but I think this is an example of a weekend that you genuinely could go to see everything – and the schedule allows you to see everything,” Ben said.
“We’ve planned it in a way that with sometimes a quick walk in between you can go and see all the main acts.”
This is True North’s debut and by the sounds of it, it really isn’t to be missed. It’s an exciting addition to APA’s schedule – and one that looks like it’s going to become an annual event.
“It’s a good time of year for this type of event and because it has that real connection to the north-east, it’s a really exciting addition to the cultural calendar,” Ben added.
Here is Ben’s choice of five events not to be missed at True North:
WHAT: Fatherson
WHERE: The Lemon Tree
WHEN: September 25
BEN SAYS: “They are seen as a really exciting new act on the Scottish scene. They’ve supported a lot of big names like Idlewild and Frightened Rabbit. We thought they were ideal to open our festival, particularly at the Lemon Tree, which we try to set up as a venue which shows the big names of tomorrow. They are supported by an Aberdeen duo, The 101, and they have been through some of our youth music programmes here.”
WHAT: Tom Odell
WHERE: Music Hall
WHEN: September 26
BEN SAYS: “I’ve never seen him live, but I’ve seen lots of videos of him live and he does seem like one of those really engaging and compelling performers. I’ve got his album as well and it’s one of those albums that just grows and grows on you. You can see why it was number one and why he won the awards. He’s supported by a young Scottish singer-songwriter, Siobhan Wilson.”
WHAT: Rachel Sermanni
WHERE: Queen’s Cross Church
WHEN: September 27
BEN SAYS: “Rachel Sermanni is from Carrbridge and is an exciting artist. She’s just about to release her second album. She has sold out the Lemon Tree a couple of times. You can also see The Unthanks; the band is centred around two sisters and are very much rooted in the folk traditions.”
WHAT: Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat plus
Kathryn Joseph
WHERE: The Lemon Tree
WHEN: September 27
BEN SAYS: “This is a celebration of Scottish artists and winners of the Scottish Album of the Year (Say). Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat won the very first Say award in 2012, and they will be performing with Kathryn Joseph, from Aberdeen, who just won the Say award 2015.”
WHAT: Long May You Run
WHERE: Music Hall
WHEN: September 27
BEN SAYS: “This is a celebration of the music by Neil Young. The festival celebrates the singer-songwriter and we wanted to pay tribute to one of the legends of that art form. So we’ve asked Roddy Hart, a fantastic singer and performer, to curate that night. It is a lineup of amazing names, each performing their version of Neil Young’s best-loved hits. So we’ve got Eddi Reader, Justin Currie, Tommy Reilly and lots more.
“It is one of those nights when this is the only time you are ever going to see it. This one event on one night at one festival. That’s what we wanted to create through this festival, to see work that you won’t see elsewhere.
“That’s going to be a really special concert.”